Parents and cousin (and me) kicking our feet back in a cozy Days Inn during our last night in Durham.

This is the indescribably bizarre habitat where I am now. The station is north of Lake Okeechobee and 2 hours away from everything (the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, Orlando). The ecosystem, which basically runs down the middle of Florida, is called oak scrub and is threatened by man-made changes like development, industry and citrus groves. Instead of soil, the main substrate is sand, which I pour out every day from my boots.

A Florida scrub-jay! I throw it peanuts, it hops out and eats them, and I read the band combination on its legs.

When I stop my ATV (in the background), whole families will fly up, surround me in the trees and wait for the peanuts. It's really goofy; I've never seen birds behave so tamely before. Here's a group doing a funky Beatles lineup. P.S. Good God, Irene driving an ATV? What's the world come to...

Hooray for binocular shots.

What a demure pose. I like how this guy's bands remind me of the Italian flag.

Once more it's bedtime at 9:30. Fortunately these birds become active later than the sparrows, and I don't have to get up at the butt-crack of dawn any more. But apparently I have to be familiar with all the territories and roads by next week. Umm...not gonna happen. It's my third day here and I've already gotten lost. Don't tell my boss!